Saturday’s game in Death Valley will be the 114th meeting between Clemson and South Carolina and the 108th consecutive year the two schools have met. That is the second longest active streak of consecutive years played in a rivalry in the nation.
“There is the season, and then we have South Carolina. It kind of stands alone. That is why it is a goal listed all by itself on our goal board,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “This is a fun week. It is awesome to be a part of rivalry games. Regardless of where you are, whether you are Florida-Florida State, Alabama-Auburn, Clemson-South Carolina, Michigan-Ohio State, whatever, this is a special week because it means a lot to a lot of people.
“This is one that you live with all year. So, we are looking forward to competing against these guys. It’s the next goal for us. We were really happy that we were able to achieve our second goal, which is to win the division, and this is the next goal.”
Clemson has had a lot of big wins in the Clemson-Carolina series. Below is a list of the Tigers’ biggest wins, along with some of the heroes from those games.
1900: Clemson won 51-0 as part of a perfect 6-0 season under first-year head coach John Heisman.
1928: The Tigers won 32-0 in a battle of unbeatens. Both teams were 5-0 entering the game. Clemson went on to an 8-3 record, a season mark for wins in a season at the time.
1939: Banks McFadden led Clemson to a 27-0 victory, an important win in a 9-1 season that ended with a win over Boston College in the 1940 Cotton Bowl.
1948: Phil Prince blocks a field goal late in the game, leading to Clemson to a 13-7 victory that preserved an unbeaten season. Clemson went on to a perfect 11-0 record.
1956: A 20th-ranked Clemson team downs South Carolina, 7-0, in an ACC rival game. The Tigers went on to win the ACC Championship.
1959: Clemson wins final Big Thursday game, 27-0, in Columbia behind Harvey White. Tigers went on to a 9-2 record and a No. 11 final ranking and the ACC title.
1960: Clemson wins first game between the two schools in Clemson, 12-2.
1967: Clemson wins, 23-12, in final game of season to clinch the ACC Championship. The last time Clemson won an ACC title by beating South Carolina in the final game.
1977: Jerry Butler’s catch in final seconds gave the Tigers’ a come-from-behind, 31-27, victory. The win sent Clemson to the Gator Bowl that year, its first bowl game in 18 years at the time.
1980: Clemson upsets 14th-ranked South Carolina, 27-6, behind Willie Underwood’s two interceptions and 17 tackles. South Carolina had Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and had won at Michigan earlier in the year. South Carolina was 8-2 entering the game. The Tigers finished the year 6-5.
1981: Clemson closed out a perfect regular season on its way to a National Championship with a 29-13 victory over the Gamecocks.
1988: Clemson won battle of top 25 teams in Rodney Williams’ final home game, 29-10. Clemson then beat Oklahoma in the Citrus Bowl to finish season in top 10.
2000: Clemson wins in a battle of top 25 teams thanks to Rod Gardner’s 50-yard reception from Woody Dantzler in the final seconds, and a 25-yard field goal by Aaron Hunt with three seconds left.
2003: Clemson’s 63 points in a 63-17 victory are the most points scored against the Gamecocks and the largest margin of victory in the rivalry since 1900. Charlie Whitehurst threw for four touchdown passes and Chad Jasmin scored four.
2005: Clemson defeated 19th-ranked South Carolina, 13-9, in Columbia, the only time it has beaten a top 20 South Carolina team in Columbia.
2007: Mark Buchholz booted a 35-yard field goal on the last play of the game to give Clemson a 23-21 victory, the only time Clemson has beaten South Carolina with a scoring play on the last play of the game.
2008: Dabo Swinney defeated South Carolina, 31-14, in his last game as interim head coach, a victory that assured him of retaining the position in a full-time capacity.
2014: Clemson ended a five-year drought in the series with a 35-17 victory at Clemson. Deshaun Watson played with a torn ACL, but accounted for four touchdowns. Freshman Wayne Gallman rushed for 191 yards, the second most in Clemson history against the Gamecocks, and freshman Artavis Scott had seven receptions for 185 yards, the most receiving yards in history by a Clemson player against the Gamecocks.